Since Binding doesn't provide any health, and only moderate protections, this build chooses Reinforced Shoes to provide extra survivability.

Gauntlet of Thebes is seen in this build over Sovereignty to continue the balanced protections, and the base of Reinforced Shoes + Binding provides enough protection to allow you some safety while stacking.

Void Stone continues the aggression with additional protection reduction, but can be switched with other magical protection items as needed.

As with the previous build example, Gem of Isolation provides an easily-applied slow, which slows enemies to a crawl when combined with Shackles.

Example Build #3 (Full Tank)
Notes Example build with full tank items. This type of build allows you to wade into enemy range to more easily confirm Shackles connects. At full build, you can even walk in with Searing Flesh to confirm the slow, then use Shackles once they're slowed.

Reinforced Shoes

Sovereignty

Oni Hunter's Garb

Spirit Robe

Gauntlet of Thebes

Gem of Isolation

Starting Items #1 (High Sustain)
Notes With this start, load up on Healing Potions to help absorb enemy god and minion damage as you look to aggress.

Alternatively, you can pick up Mana Potions for more ability use, or skip the Chalice and get potions.

Shoes Options (Choose One)
Notes All shoes options are viable. Replace late with Elixir of Speed.

Shoes of the Magi (Damage): When you're confident in the matchup, the early flat pen can help get some early kills in lane and get you ahead of the enemy.

Shoes of Focus (Ability Use): This is also an aggressive option, but in a different way. Instead of enhancing your own damage, this provides opportunity for more ability use via the CDR. The extra mana is helpful.

Reinforced Shoes (Tanky Aggression): This is a viable option for early protections, helpful to soak up some damage when looking to dive the enemy. Since Ares doesn't have an escape, this is a good, safe bet.

Traveler's Shoes (Mobility): Ares lacks any mobility function in his kit outside of an MS boost when he Shackles enemies. This provides a nice boost out the gate, and the higher base MS can help him close on an enemy more quickly.

Shoes of the Magi

Shoes of Focus

Reinforced Shoes

Traveler's Shoes

Aura Protection Items
Notes These items help Ares' passive, Blessed Presence, giving him 30 free power for each aura item built. This is functional since Shackles has strong scaling potential. However, this doesn't mean you should build ONLY aura items. Only pick up the ones you feel are going to be strongly beneficial for the match.

*NOTE*: Mystical Mail isn't included in this list, since I don't feel it's a good item in a Support role. That doesn't mean you can't build it, if you really, really want.

Gauntlet of Thebes (Dual Protections): Both magical and physical protections along with some health and health sustain. Requires stacking to build the protections. Consider picking up anytime.

Void Stone (Anti-Magical / Aggression): Provides 15 magical protection reduction in an aura. Good for your own damage and any other nearby magical teammates.

Shogun's Kusari (Anti-Magical / Teammate Attack Speed): Magical protection, some mana sustain, some CDR, and an aura that provides increased attack speed. This is very useful for taking down objectives more quickly, and for supporting basic-attacking teammates.

Stone of Binding (Early Aggression): When you apply CC to an enemy (e.g. Shackles), it applies a 15 magical/physical protection debuff on the enemy for 5 seconds. This is a great early item for aggression, and provides some dual protections to help your own survivability. When buying this item, pick it up early, and sell it late.

Gem of Isolation (Slow): The main component of this item applies a slow when you damage an enemy. This is extremely helpful to lock enemies down, and is easily applied by Searing Flesh. It makes enemies incredibly slow in combination with Shackles, and helps control a teamfight with No Escape.

Emperor's Armor (Structure Protection / Takedown): The main use of this item is for structure strategies. Defensively, it can help you protect towers/phoenixes, while offensively, it slows the damage of the enemy structures to allow you to dive more aggressively.

Pythagorem's Piece (Team Sustain / Damage): Aura item that provides nearby teammates with a power and lifesteal buff. Incredibly underrated item that synergizes well with Ares' kit. The health and CDR are also appreciated.

Spear of the Magus (High Aggression): Not a typical Support item. Provides high penetration that is very easily applied by Ares, and can be considered if your team has 3 magical gods. Only consider if you're snowballing or your team really, really needs the extra damage.

Relics to Consider
Notes

Blink Rune (Ult / Chase): Core relic for Ares, extremely well known for use in combination with No Escape. Can be picked up first for early aggression, or later if you want a more defensive relic first.

Horrific Emblem (Slow / Anti-Basic-Attack): Useful to help further control enemies with a movement and attack speed slow. Can be countered by Heavenly Wings, and has a somewhat small radius of effect, so is not picked up very often.

Magic Shell (Shield): Activate to provide a shield to protect yourself and teammates. Upgrade when possible for the extremely helpful "Block" effect, which absorbs the next 2 basic attacks.

Blink Rune

Heavenly Wings

Horrific Emblem

Magic Shell

Ares's Skill Order

Shackles

1X

13679

Bolster Defenses

2A

48101112

Searing Flesh

3B

213141516

No Escape

4Y

517181920

Purchase Order

Example Build #1 (Aggression)
Notes This is a build meant for early/mid-game team aggression due to Stone of Binding. Relic Dagger is purchased fairly early to help you pull as many enemies as possible with your ult.

Build created per UPLAR's inquiry. All current writeups are in the notes at the top.

Not sure if I'm going to maintain this one. Let's see how helpful this is to people.

Overview of Ares in a Support Role:

When using Ares in a Conquest Support role, you're typically going for early aggression. It is helpful if you have an ADC and/or Jungler that has a strong early game, to take advantage of Ares' control and damage potential.

He has relatively weak minion clear, so your target is going to be the enemy gods, even in the presence of minions.

He also has somewhat limited peel potential outside of his ult, No Escape. Shackles slows the enemy and prevents them from using mobility skills, so you'll need to be careful and time your use well. If you're not good with skill shots, you may not want to play him, because the hitbox for the ability is fairly narrow.

You are one of the best gods at burning enemy beads, via No Escape. Learn to time your Blink Rune use well to chain as many enemies together at once. Warn your teammates when the ult is up and you're looking to use it, so they can prepare abilities.

Whips & Chains (Abilities)

Passive:

Blessed Presence

Each completed aura item that Ares owns grants him 30 additional magical power

Discussion: Build aura items, get free power.

Tips: Aura items help his damage output, but building aura items should NOT be the primary focus of his kit. Item choices need to make sense with the context of the mode, your team comp, and the enemy team comp.

TL;DR, aim for aura items when it fits your needs.

Skill #1:

Shackles

Chains extend from Ares' shield, doing damage to all enemies in its path. Hitting a god shackles them to Ares, cripples them, preventing movement abilities, dealing the same damage every second while slowing them by 15% and buffing Ares. While shackled, Ares can fire another chain for free within 2s.

Leveling Priority: Max this first.

General Use: Damage / Control

Discussion: This is a narrow-line skill-shot that prevents enemies from using mobility skills, while dealing solid damage to up to 3 enemies. You get 3 shackles you can use, and you can use it repeatedly on a single target; however, with a 2 second timeframe to cast the next Shackle, you will lose some total damage potential.

When possible, aim for different targets with each Shackle to control a larger group overall.

Tips:

You can get a basic attack in-between Shackle uses if you're close to the enemy, increasing your damage output. If targeting only a single enemy, Try to wait closer to 2 seconds before using the ability again, to maximize the time you can lock down the enemy. NEVER spam the ability on a single enemy.

Patience is key. The ability can be difficult to connect due to the fairly narrow hitbox. Never rush a shot, and try to close on an enemy to make them easier to hit.

Skill #2:

Bolster Defenses

Ares strengthens the defenses of himself and all nearby allies, granting protections and reducing crowd control durations. For each shackled enemy, the protection buffs are increased.

Leveling Priority: Level this anytime after Shackles, as preferred for your needs.

General Use: Personal / Group Defense

Discussion: Provides an aura of protections and CC reduction for you and nearby teammates. Anticipate heavy damage abilities by activating this preemptively, and always use it in a teamfight.

Tips: You can activate this in between ability uses, such as between individual hits of Shackles. You can also activate this before or after you ult. If you anticipate a lot of focus on yourself when you blink in on grouped up enemies, use this right before blinking to give yourself an extra measure of survivability.

Skill #3:

Searing Flesh

Flames pour forth from Ares' shield, engulfing enemies in a cone in front of him causing damage every 0.5s for 4s. Ares is immune to knockback for the duration.

Leveling Priority: Level this anytime after Shackles, as preferred for your needs.

General Use: Minion Wave clear / Damage

Discussion: This ability not only does base damage every tick, but additionally deals magical damage based on the enemy target's maximum health. This can make the ability deal a large amount of damage if you can channel on the enemy for the entire duration.

Not stated is the fact it provides a small knockback effect against enemy minions. You can use this to group minions up a bit for easier clear by other teammates.

Tips: This is typically used after finishing a series of Shackles, to continue the damage output. Note that it can be interrupted, so if you can, wait until enemies have used any abilities that can interrupt a channeled ability (e.g. stun, silence, knockup, pull, taunt, etc.).

Ultimate:

No Escape

Ares throws chains out to all enemy gods in an area around him. All enemies hit by the chains are pulled to Ares after 2.5s, taking damage and are stunned.

Leveling Priority: Suggest leveling this last, but you can prioritize as preferred.

General Use: Initiation / Peel / Teamfight Control / Kill Secure

Discussion: Ares' signature and most recognized ability, this provides a huge measure of control against the enemy team. It forces them to buy (and burn) Purification Beads), and can easily outwork Beads due to a much shorter CD.

You can use it on a single target to help peel or secure a kill, but it is often better realized in the midst of a teamfight, where you can connect on multiple targets.

Tips:

Your best bet when initiating with the ability is to pair it with Blink Rune. That relic allows you to pick an opportune time to teleport into the midst of a bunched up group of enemies.

An additional consideration is picking up Relic Dagger, especially in teamfight modes, so you can use this combo much more often.

It's best to prioritize enemies that 1) you know have recently used any Beads they have, and 2) don't have a CC-immune ult that allows them to get out of the pull.

The channeling also makes YOU CC-immune, so you can use this as a counter to those CC abilities (e.g. Ares vs. Ares).

Ability Leveling Tips:

At level 1, you can start with either Shackles or Searing Flesh. Shackles can be used for weak clear, but the intention here is to start aggressive by going in on the enemy gods. It's also the best choice if the enemy has stuns.

Alternatively, you can start with Searing Flesh for higher minion clear potential. The ability also KNOCKS BACK minions, which can be helpful for some ADC clear functions (e.g. Artemis' Suppress The Insolent. This should be avoided as the starter if the enemy has a stun, as it can stop the channeling.

Note that Searing Flesh has a functional jump in DPS at ranks 3 and 5. You can consider leveling this to 3, then switching back to leveling Bolster Defenses if preferred.

You can level the ult whenever you prefer. Some like to level it whenever it's available (levels 5, 9, 13, 17, 20), but it only provides a damage increase on a somewhat long CD. As such, you might consider delaying leveling past 1 until other abilities are maxed.

This is another item I contemplated. I didn't want to fully list every item that might be functional...only the best to consider for his kit. This is why I didn't list Urchin, or Mantle, or BoV, and also Genji.

I consider BoV and Genji in the same vein of item function. Both provide CDR, one protection type, and mana sustain of some form. And although Ares (hell, ANY god) appreciates CDR, he has more important things he needs to build.

If he really wants CDR, he has options. Spirit, Witch, Focus, Pythag's, and Shogun's are all good options there, and provide some additional form of utility.

If he wants magical protection, he also has enough options. Sure, Pest, Void, Heartward, Shogun's, and Oni are all a bit on the situational side with regard to pure magical options, but besides these, he also has dual protection options from Gauntlet and Spirit.

With that in mind, I just don't feel Genji's stats are as important...not for this god. Does that make sense?

Pretty much what I was going to say, but more in-depth. Because Ares is such an aggressive guardian who has to get close to use his ult, Oni and spirit robe are great items on him because of their passives. Genji's and bov are more solo items that I don't think supports should be building unless absolutely needed because they have other options that also help out the team.

I know, that or another Healing Potion. I contemplated that, but often, I find that on my first back as Support in general, I may not be using all of my potions. Then I have to sell something if I want space for a ward.

Regarding the skill leveling, I did talk about that in the body. If you want the highest kill potential, you would focus on maxing Shackles as opposed to alternating, then moving on to Searing Flesh. But the 2nd and the 4th ranks of Searing aren't that great of a boost. But in any case, if people are willing to read the quite succinct (for me) writeup, I do give the option to focus less on Bolster Defenses. Keep in mind, I can only present one skill leveling path. So I chose the "Support" oriented one. As an FYI, I vary my skill leveling. Sometimes I focus on the 2, sometimes the 3, sometimes I level the ult when available.

This is more of a general thing I created for the community, so I'm willing to adjust certain things if group consensus agrees.

SmiteFire & Smite

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